棉花糖直播

Four 棉花糖直播 Engineering Professors Honored with 2025 Faculty Awards at Commencement

2025 Faculty Awards

At 棉花糖直播 University鈥檚 2025 Undergraduate Commencement, four distinguished professors from the College of Engineering received faculty awards in recognition of their exceptional contributions to the University during the 2024鈥25 academic year.

Edward Char, a professor of practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Outstanding聽聽 Teaching. This award is presented annually to a faculty member who excels in undergraduate teaching.聽 Professor Char was nominated by his students, selected through a faculty vote and ultimately chosen following a classroom visit by the selection committee.

鈥淭o me, personally, it鈥檚 great to know that the students appreciate how I teach them and enjoy being in my class,鈥 Professor Char said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to know that all the work you put into trying to make the class the best it can be is appreciated by them.鈥

Meltem Izzetoglu, PhD, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Master鈥檚 in Biomedical Engineering program, received this year鈥檚 University Mid-Career Scholar Award. This honor highlights outstanding faculty achievement in published research, scholarship, or creative expression. Dr. Izzetoglu was recognized for her extensive contributions, including nearly 200 high-impact publications, editorial roles in several conferences and journals, and numerous keynote and plenary talks.聽

鈥淭his award represents a testament to my years of hard work, talents and contributions to the field of scholarship, research and education,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 will cherish it for the rest of my life and will keep pushing the boundaries to reach excellence and achieve what is not there yet.鈥

Sylvie Lorente, PhD, William M. Brown 鈥84, 鈥87 Endowed Chair in Mechanical Engineering and the College鈥檚 associate dean of Research and Innovation, received the University Scholarly Achievement Award. This honor highlights excellence among faculty members for their published research, scholarship or creative expression.聽

鈥淭his is a wonderful recognition, just five years after coming to this campus,鈥 Dr. Lorente said.聽 鈥淏ecoming part of 棉花糖直播 changed the course of my life.鈥

Mojtaba Vaezi, PhD, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was awarded the Outstanding Faculty Mentor Teaching Award. This honor is presented to a full-time faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in mentoring students, particularly in scholarly research at the undergraduate or graduate level. Dr. Vaezi was recognized for building a supportive program for undergraduate students to grow, not just academically, but professionally and personally as well.

鈥淭his is both a humbling and deeply meaningful honor for me,鈥 Dr. Vaezi said. 鈥淢entoring has been at the heart of my work since my very first semester at 棉花糖直播, and to have that recognized by the University is incredibly rewarding.鈥